God S Relentless Love A Study Of Hosea

God never gives up. Even when you rebel, disobey or make a mistake, God continues to pursue you with a relentless love. In this twelve-session LifeGuide® Bible Study, Dale and Sandy Larsen lead you through the fascinating Old Testament story of Hosea, you'll see how a godly man's unfailing love for his wayward wife illustrates God's unconditional, "no-holds-barred" love for you, too. This revised LifeGuide Bible Study features additional questions for starting group discussions and for meeting God in personal reflection, together with expanded leader's notes and a "Now or Later" section in each study. For over three decades LifeGuide Bible Studies have provided solid biblical content and raised thought-provoking questions—making for a one-of-a-kind Bible study experience for individuals and groups. This series has more than 130 titles on Old and New Testament books, character studies, and topical studies. PDF download with a single-user license; available from InterVarsity Press and other resellers.

When God does his work in the heart and life of a person his intent is radical change. Jesus did not die on the cross so that we could be improved versions of our old selves. Instead he came to give us a new heart and a new life. Do you see yourself in need of radical change? From the first chapter of Hosea we are drawn into an amazing love story unlike any other in Scripture. With every twist and turn God’s love is revealed as unconditional, faithful, and true. This in-depth study of Hosea looks closely at the unusual story of Hosea and Gomer and reveals the truths God wants his chosen people to understand. From the pagan groves to the back alleys, you will marvel as God seeks, call, and longs for the return of the one he loves. The narrative of Hosea and its depiction of Israel is far from being just an ancient love story. The themes of redemption, reconciliation, and revival are as relevant today as they were in the times of Hosea. This eleven-week study includes a weekly lesson and daily assignments. It is formatted to be used in a group setting or individually.

Uncovers the personal, deeply emotional nature of God's love We're all familiar with heartbreak. We know what it's like to be betrayed by someone we love. What we often forget--or may not even realize--is that God can relate to those feelings. Every time we betray Him, He endures intense heartbreak. Only in God's case, He doesn't act on paranoia, distrust, or smothering possessiveness, but rather a righteous jealousy, borne of our duty to reserve our highest devotion for Him alone. With her newest Bible study, Sue Edwards dives into Hosea's story. This prophet's life is a stunning illustration of how God's fierce love for us can manifest wonders. In Hosea's time, the nation of Israel needed that lesson--and God used the prophet as a teaching tool. This gifted preacher was commanded by God to marry a prostitute named Gomer, and to return to her again and again after she betrayed him in the most public ways. Hosea's fascinating story and sermons will revolutionize every reader's perspective on life's circumstances. His example shows how God sometimes responds to our betrayal with tough love that reorients our focus and wakes us up to return to intimate fellowship with Him. But even as Hosea's marriage demonstrates that the tough love of our heavenly Father can be grueling, it is always in our best interest--and it isn't His final move. Dig into Hosea and discover the truth of God's ferocious love and merciful purposes.

Joy Philip Kakkanattu provides an exegetical and theological analysis of an important and difficult text of the Old Testament through a synchronic and diachronic reading. Detailed critical notes, which discuss the textual difficulties, accompany the translation of the text from Hebrew. In the detailed exegesis, special attention is given to study of the key terms theologically significant in Hos 11:1-11 against the context of the whole book. The exegesis shows that in Hos 11:8-9 it is not the repentance of Yahweh that causes the withholding of His anger against Israel, but Yahweh's constancy in His election of Israel as His son. More than a change of heart, the decision not to execute the deserved judgement witnesses Yahweh's divine nature. Special attention is dedicated to the parent metaphor employed in Hos 11:1-11. It is concluded that more than expressing the Yahweh-Israel relationship as a father-son relationship, the text speaks of it in terms of parent-child relationship. In the diachronic analysis, the author deals with the origin and formation of Hos 11:1-11.

I will commit myself to you forever—in steadfast love and tender compassion. (Hosea 2:19) The prophet Hosea used the heart-rending story of his marriage to an unfaithful wife as a moving object lesson of the pain which God felt when his people Israel rejected his love. Rather than worshipping the true God, who had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, the nation had reverted to worshipping idols to such an extent that God was compelled to use the words of the divorce formula and say to them “you are not my people.” Yet remarkably, when Hosea’s wife left him for another man, God’s command to the prophet was for him love his wife again, and take her back to his home—that by doing so he might illustrate the grace and unending love of God toward his erring people—the relationship was to be restored! In the midst of serious warnings for the unrepentant, the book of Hosea offers hope that no matter how far a relationship may have broken down, there are none which cannot be restored. In particular, our relationship with God can be renewed by his forgiveness and grace.